Existing electrical wires and cable and their associated methods of installation require the use of tools, such as wire strippers and cutters, to expose the conductive elements of the wires in preparation for their connection to an electrical system. This process takes both time and skill and can be time consuming, even for experienced installers, especially when the time consumed is considered over the course of a project. Errors during this operation may also result in the insulation surrounding the conductor being compromised or the wire being severed, requiring additional time to be spent on repair before the work can proceed.
In addition to time and skill requirements, this seemingly simple task also occasionally results in workplace injuries. This is, in part, because the preferred industry tool for stripping such a cable is a utility knife. According to the Massachusetts governmental website, the second most likely reason for an 18-24 year old male to visit the emergency room with a work related injury is being cut or pierced. Notably, 15,154 or 28.1% of visits in Massachusetts emergency rooms result from such injuries annually in Massachusetts alone. Nationally, emergency rooms treat over 750,000 patients annually with work-related cut or pierce injuries. A wire that omitted the use of a utility knife from the stripping operation would inevitably lead to a reduction in such injuries and would help to save millions of dollars annually.
Cables, which contain a plurality of individually-sheathed wires, present an even larger challenge to installers and a significantly larger risk of costly and/or time consuming errors being made. With cables, the outer sheathing must be cut away to expose the jacketing of individual wires for stripping, further increasing the time an electrician, HVAC tech, professional installer, homeowner or other person installing the wiring must spend preparing the wires for installation and the risk of damage to the underlying conductor from accidental puncture of the protective jacket during sheathing removal.
A somewhat related problem involves ductless mini-split A/C systems. In recent years, mini-split ductless AC systems have become popular. These systems are similar to traditional central air conditioning systems in that they locate the noisiest part of the system, the compressor and associated hardware, outdoors. Such systems, however, do not require extensive ductwork to be installed within the home, thus making them a reasonable and cost-effective upgrade to an existing structure.
While the systems themselves are relatively easy to install, relative to traditional centralized air conditioning systems, the cabling for such systems is relatively complicated, requiring AC power wires, DC signal or communications conductors and non-current carrying ground wires to function, each of which must be separated by sheathing in addition to that of the individual wires. There is currently no cable that can provide ease of use, durability and the required connectors for installation of such a system, while meeting code requirements.
What is needed, therefore, are wires and cables that do not require the use of tools to expose the conductors within, enabling their tool-less installation, particularly wires and cables suitable for use in the installation of mini-split ductless AC systems.